Sunday, June 12, 2011

Keeping busy

This time of year I don't really get a whole lot done inside. There isn't much time for knitting and the likes, beside the odd project that can be done at night watching the news. Right now I'm working on a really cute little cabled baby hat. I'm in the midst of skirting the fleeces, and it should be done as soon as I have another couple of weekends with good weather. Luckily this weekend has been cooler and rainy. Last week we had a nasty heat wave. I guess there's more to come of that, but it would be nice if we could ease into it. :-)

On Wednesday night we took the broilers and hens to the processing plant. It was high time, as the heat was really getting to the broilers. There's only so much fans can do.
I picked them up yesterday and was very pleased with the outcome. The average size was 5.36lbs. The biggest one came out at 6lbs. Wow! I did some calculations on how much the cost was per broiler, and it came out to $13.8/broiler. That includes purchase price, feed cost and processing cost. This of course would be lower if you process yourself. It doesn't include labor, which if it did, would be horrendous! :-) All in all I think it's well worth it. At least you know what you're eating and that it was raised properly. You can't get that cheap.

Yesterday I was busy cleaning and disinfecting the coop, before I move the young ones in. What nasty work that is. A good thing the weather was cooperating. Can't imagine doing that in heat and humidity. Just waiting for everything to dry out properly now, and then I'll dust it down with DE before putting down new bedding. If we get a nice day tomorrow, it should be ready in a few days.
Hubby is working on a new door for the coop. One that we can put in temporarily with netting on, just so there can be more air circulation now during the summer. Once I move them in, I'll keep them locked up for a day or so, just so they know where they belong and where to perch.

In the garden everything is growing well. The potatoes have really taken off, as has the tomatoes. The cucumbers are gone. Something must have gotten to them. Maybe rabbits? As soon as they leafed out, some sneaky little thing nipped the leaves off. Of course I don't have anything fenced in, so I guess it's to be expected.

Let's see what the rest of the day brings. There are plenty things on the docket.